La usurpadora (1998)
"La usurpadora" is a Mexican telenovela produced by Salvador Mejía and directed by Beatriz Sheridan for Televisa. It's a remake of a 1972 Venezuelan telenovela by the same name. It aired from February 9 to July 24, 1998 and it concluded with 102 episodes. The main stars are Gabriela Spanic and Fernando Colunga. Synopsis Paola and Paulina are twins who were separated at birth. Paulina is a good, honest woman who lives in poverty and is engaged to a simple man, named Osvaldo (who is seeing another woman).Paola though rich, is a frivolous, evil woman who has many lovers, including her brother in-law Willy. She is married to a wealthy man named Carlos Daniel Bracho. When the twins cross paths by chance, Paola attempts to convince Paulina into taking her place in the Brachos' house, so that she can take a year-long vacation with a new lover, Alessandro. At first, Paulina refuses because she can't leave her mother who is deathly ill; but is later blackmailed and forced to take Paola's place after Paola puts her bracelet in Paulina's purse, accuses her of theft and threatens jail. Paulina, abandoned by her fiancé Osvaldo and after the death of her mother, with nothing left in life to do submits to Paola's plan. Paulina, unaware of the destruction the Bracho household was under (thanks to Paola) decides to work throughout the year righting all wrongs. She strives to convince everyone that she is a "changed woman" and a "new person". During the year, Paulina falls in love with Carlos Daniel. She cures grandma Piedad (who suffers from alcoholism), saves the Bracho factory from financial ruin, and cuts ties with all of Paola's lovers. Paulina, being the honorable and decent woman that she is, refuses to be intimate with Carlos Daniel telling him that she needs a year due to her "illness". Carlos Daniel, unaware she is not really Paola, resents her and falls back into the arms of Gema, Paola's frenemy, who is always trying to seduce Carlos Daniel, encouraged by Carlos Daniel's sister Estefania, who detests Paola. Meanwhile, the real Paola is in Monaco living it up and partying with Alessandro, a very wealthy man. One night after a party, Paola, convinced she is in a dream, gets in a car crash with Alessandro in the passenger seat. They end up in a hospital. Paola, after months and multiple surgeries, recovers but her lover Alessandro ends up paralyzed and is bound to a wheelchair. Paola, no longer interested in him, plans her return to Mexico to take back her place as the real Paola Bracho. Trivia * Gabriela Spanic has a twin sister in real life, Daniela Spanic, who is a Venezuelan model and actress. Daniela was approached by the producers of the show to appear in one scene where Paola and Paulina physically fight, as the sequence would have been too difficult to achieve by camera trickery. * 'La usurpadora' wasn't the first of Spanic's telenovelas playing twins. She had already played two identical women in Venezuelan telenovela 'Como tu, ninguna' although they were not related. She played the roles just in the last stage of the story. Gabriela later starred in Televisa's 2001 'La intrusa' where she once again took on roles similar to 'La usurpadora', except both sisters were good characters. * One of the most exported Televisa telenovelas, has been licensed by 125 countries and dubbed into 25 languages. * 'La usurpadora' was followed by a two-hour special, 'Más alla de La usurpadora' which is set a year after the events of the original telenovela. Again produced by Salvador Mejia Alejandre and directed by Beatriz Sheridan, it starred many familiar cast members, including Gabriela Spanic and Fernando Colunga, and introduced a new character, Raquel, played by Yadhira Carrillo. Cast Main cast Guest stars See also * 'La usurpadora', 1972 Venezuelan telenovela, starring Marina Baura and Raúl Amundaray. * 'El hogar que yo robé', 1981 Mexican telenovela, starring Angélica María and Juan Ferrara. * 'La intrusa', 1987 Venezuelan telenovela, starring Mariela Alcalá and Víctor Cámara. * '¿Quién eres tú?', 2012 American telenovela, starring Laura Carmine and Julián Gil. * 'La usurpadora', 2019 Mexican telenovela, starring Sandra Echeverría and Andrés Palacios. Category:1998 telenovelas Category:Mexican telenovelas Category:Televisa telenovelas